


Help from the Helpless

by An_Ordinary_Writer



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: But not from Camila, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm going there, Luz Appreciation Week, Physical Abuse from a Parent, oh yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27080581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_Ordinary_Writer/pseuds/An_Ordinary_Writer
Summary: Those with the biggest of hearts tend to also have the heaviest of souls.OrSeven times someone appreciated having Luz in their lives, and the one time Luz appreciated having people in hers.(Written for Luz Appreciation Week)
Relationships: Luz Noceda & Everybody
Comments: 88
Kudos: 461





	1. Gus

**Author's Note:**

> Today's prompt: Human World

Luz balanced the dozens of books and papers in her arms. When Principal Bump asked her what tracks she wanted to learn, Luz thought that studying all of them would have been fun. But in hindsight, given the amount of homework she had in a day, she probably should have stuck with three or four. Now that school was over, Luz continued to walk down the hall and looked past her pile in hopes that the exit was somewhat close. And that's when she saw him.

"Gus?" Luz said as she walked up to her friend. Currently, he was sitting across from a door, with his back to the wall and knees to his chest. 

"What are you doing here?" Luz asked.

Gus didn't say anything. Instead, he just pointed at the door with a sorrowful expression on his face. Luz looked over and saw Mattholomule glaring through the window in the door. And like the slimy little weasel that he is, he slammed a piece of looseleaf paper that read, 'Human Appreciation Society meeting in progress! No Augustus's allowed!' Luz scowled back as she understood the situation.

"Still bummed that you're banned from the Society?" Luz guessed, getting confirmation once Gus solemnly nodded his head. Luz looked at her friend, then at her pile of homework, and back at her friend. Making up her mind, Luz slowly set down everything she held and sat next to Gus.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked, with an understanding smile. Gus remained silent for a while until finally looking up at her.

"I overheard one of the members talking about how excited they were to discuss daily human rituals," he explained, "And that got me bummed because I have come up with  _ so many  _ theories over the years. And now I won't be able to compare notes with anybody. Or, at least, anybody who would care."

Gus continued to sulk, but Luz couldn't help but grin as a lightbulb went on over her head.

"Who cares about discussing theories with club members," she said, "Because you wanna know something you have that they don't?"

"Hm?"

"A best friend who can tell you the real stuff humans do," Luz said with a quirk in her eyebrows. At that, Gus' solemn face slowly but surely turned to shock and delight as he turned his starry gaze towards Luz.

"You would do that?"

Luz briefly glanced at her discarded pile of homework.

"Yeah, I've got time," she claimed, "What do you want to know?"

"EVERYTHING!" Gus shouted with glee, a gigantic smile overtaking his face.

"...Ok. How about we start with a normal school day in the human world?" Luz suggested.

"Oh, right! Of course!" Gus agreed and took out a notepad and pen, seemingly out of nowhere, "I'm ready whenever you are!"

"Hm..." Luz briefly thought about how to explain the human world to Gus, "...Well, I guess I'll start with my usual morning routine. Usually, it's always the same every day: The alarm on my phone wakes me up, I go to eat breakfast with my mom and then brush my teeth soon after. And maybe even take a shower."

"Wait," Gus looked somewhat disgusted as he looked up from his notes, "Humans don't shower every day?"

"Alright, look," Luz said with the tone of a person who is sick of explaining the same thing one too many times. "Yes, most humans shower every day. But here's the thing: One, research says that it's perfectly acceptable to shower once every other day, which is what I do. And two, it's not like I don't shower when I need to. In fact, if anything, I shower when it's clear that my body is starting to reek."

Luz then paused in her explanation once a thought came to her. She lifted her pit, took a whiff, spent a few seconds judging the smell, and then shrugged it off with an 'Eh.'

"Anyways," she continued, "After my morning routine, my mom drives me to school, where-"

"Drive?"

"Oh, uh, hang on," Luz dug through her pocket and pulled out her phone. After scrolling through her gallery, she eventually found the photo she was looking for and looked back to Gus with newfound confidence.

"You see, in the human world, we don't have any staffs or flying chariots," Luz then lifted up her phone to show the picture of her mom gesturing to a car as if presenting a new prize, "Instead, we have these things. They're called cars, and humans get inside them so they can 'drive' around from place to place on these things called 'roads.'"

_ "Cool... _ " Gus said, clearly amazed, "And it looks much safer to use that then a staff."

"Actually, depending on the person, a car is incredibly dangerous," Luz explained, "My mom told me that it takes nearly a year to learn how to drive one, and even then, most people who do still don't understand the basics. Because at this point, any idiot with two hands can drive a car, which is why most people say that you're more likely to die driving than you are flying."

"Oh. Yikes."

"Yeah, it's not pretty," Luz said as she put her phone back in her pocket, "But as I was saying--uh, what exactly was I saying, again?"

"Um..." Gus flipped back through his previous notes, "You were about to talk about human school."

"Oh, yeah.  _ School,"  _ Luz groaned, "Man, I was not a fan of school in my realm. Sure, there are cool electives like Art and some English classes. But there are also the mandatory electives that the system forces you to take. History classes with a bored teacher going on and on about stuff even  _ they _ don't care about. Math classes that force you to memorize algorithms and equations that keep changing every few years, so it's easier and somehow harder at the same time. English classes where you're forced to write a dozen page essays with little to no creative freedom. And don't even get me started on science!"

"Then I'm sorry to ask, but what is science?"

"Science--" Luz stopped herself, taking time to consider how she was going to phrase this, "Well, science is basically the human version of magic."

"No.  _ WAY!" _

"Yeah, more or less," Luz shrugged, "In fact, we even have a saying where I'm from: All magic is just science that you can't explain yet."

"That is so cool!" Gus exclaimed, but his excitement soon turned into confusion as he stared at Luz, "But, wait. You love magic. So, why don't you love your own version of it? Better yet, why do you hate school when you're willing to put up with all of  _ that?" _

Gus pointed with his pen at the pile of books and papers that stood next to Luz.

"Well...Ok, think of it this way," Luz said, "If you were to go to a human school and learn everything there is to learn there, wouldn't you be excited about it?"

"Uh, does a griffin lay eggs?"

"Exactly. You would be excited to learn that stuff because you'll get to know what you  _ want  _ to know. You know?"

"...I guess?"

"And it's the same thing for me learning at Hexide! Teachers teach me what I actually love. And in the human realm, there are boring classes that I have to take to have a 'proper education.' It feels kind of...restricting. Even more than being forced to pick one track at Hexside. At least you get to pick and choose a field you're passionate about. Where I'm from, you have to wait until graduation before getting that luxury.

"And it doesn't help that the people in my school didn't want me there. I have friends here and a handful of teachers who sort of like me. But where I'm from, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Teachers hated me because of how disruptive I was and students...Students just avoided me. I would sit in the back of the class so I wouldn't attract attention, I would always eat lunch by myself, and I was just...alone. I was alone for so long."

Luz glanced back at Gus, who was looking at her with a downhearted expression.

"Woof! Sorry about that," Luz apologized, "Got a little...personal there for a second.  _ Anyways, _ uh, the daily routine for human school is not too different from what we do at Hexide. You go to class, take notes, have tests or quizzes, and learn to further your education, but  _ not _ how to function as an adult. So all-in-all it's practically the same. The only difference being the curriculum, of course.

"Then when school's over, I wait out front for my mom to pick me up. There are times when I take the bus--Which are cars, but they're bigger and longer--because my mom had an extra-long shift at work. For the most part, she just takes me home. But there are special occasions--And by that, I mean 'days my mom forgot to have lunch'--when she takes me to get Chimichurri sandwiches. And Gus, my friend, you have not lived until you ate a sandwich like that. It's like happiness and cuisine had a baby, and it was delicious!"

Luz's stomach grumbled as she talked.

"And, as you can see, I'm getting hungry just by thinking about it," she chuckled, "I always love it when my mom and I go there. We hang out, eat, and just talk. I tell her about my day, she tells me about hers, and sometimes I talk her ear off about this new show I'm into. She clearly doesn't understand a word I say, but she still listens...She always listens..."

"Luz?"

"And after that, we go home!" Luz continued, "Now, to tell you the truth, my 'at home' routine is nowhere near as exciting as other humans. While everyone goes out to hang with friends or go to parties,  _ Ya Girl _ was staying home doing homework and watching anime on my laptop."

"Laptop?"

"Imagine a crystal ball, but it's flat, and you can bend it."

"Fascinating..." Gus went back to scribbling notes on his notepad.

"Yup! And when it's time for dinner, my mom calls me down to eat," Luz went on, "For the most part, she cooks something delicious. But if she had a long and exhausting day at work, we have to order take-out instead. Which is like ordering food that someone else makes to deliver to you."

"Yeah, we have that here too," Gus waved off the explanation, "Now tell me about your nighttime routine."

"Well, there's nothing too different or exciting about a human going to bed. What I do is I brush my teeth, say goodnight to mom, she kisses me goodnight back, and I spend an hour or two on my phone before falling asleep. My alarm wakes me up in the morning, and the whole thing starts back up again. And that is the daily routine for a human being!"

"I'll admit, this is all very interesting," Gus said as he went through his notes, "I can't believe how similar human life is to witches'. And I find it incredibly fascinating to see that humans have such a deep connection with their parents."

Luz smiled at that comment, but her eyes had a sadness to them.

"I don't know about most humans," she confessed, "But there is definitely a deep connection between my mom and me."

"...You miss your mom, don't you?"

"Every day," Luz said without a second of hesitation. After seeing Gus looking concerned, she immediately shifted her mood.

"But it's fine!" she said, "Eda and Lilith are working hard on making a brand new portal and told me that I'll be home lickety-split! So there's nothing to worry about."

Gus didn't look like he believed Luz. And quite frankly, Luz didn't believe herself, either.

"And besides," she went on, "When the new portal is made, you better believe that I'm taking everyone with me to visit. Especially  _ you." _

_ "Really!" _ Gus' face lit up at the offer.

"Yeah, really! Did you think I would just leave my favorite illusionist hanging while I go to the world he obsesses over?"

"That's so cool!" Gus exclaimed, "I can't wait to share my findings with..."

But his joy went away the second he remembered the current situation he was in.

"Hey," Luz put a tentative hand on his shoulder, "You may not be able to go to them to share anything. But when they find out that you know more about the human world than any witch on the Isles? My friend,  _ they _ will be the ones coming to  _ you _ ."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

Gus smiled out of appreciation, but it was clear that he still wasn't convinced.

"In the meantime," Luz said with a smirk, "Do you want to learn about human holidays?"

"DO I?!" Gus immediately flipped to a new page on his notepad. Luz chuckled at his enthusiasm and took one last look at her homework before continuing.

She can always do her homework later. Gus needs her now.


	2. Eda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: Magic Training

Luz sat in the living room of the owl house, using a magnifying glass as she studied closely at the bowl of abomination goo that Amity lent her. They had to present their work on Monday, and Luz still couldn't find anything resembling a glyph for making an abomination, let alone commanding one to rise. Looking closely at the goop, Luz swore that she saw something for a second. She tried to get a closer look when-

"DANG IT!"

The loud scream startled Luz so much that she dropped her magnifying glass into the goop with a  _ Splat! _

"Aw, man," Luz whined as she picked the now mucky magnifying glass out of the goo.

"DANG IT!" she heard again. Setting her magnifying glass down, Luz decided to get up and follow the noise. That's when she found herself in the kitchen looking over at a distressed Eda. Her trusty mentor was currently bent over the kitchen table, which at the moment was covered in crumpled up pieces of paper. Luz watched as Eda scribbled something on a new piece of paper and tapped it once. Then twice. And then she started to rapidly tap it out of frustration until eventually pounding her fist onto the table.

"DANG! IT!" she yelled.

"Uh, Eda?" Eda looked up at her apprentice, who stared at Eda with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, hey kiddo," Eda grunted, "Nothing's wrong. Just go back to whatever it is you were doing."

"You sure? Because it looks like you need help."

"I don't need help!" Eda said indignantly, "I'm Eda, the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles! Completely unstoppable!"

Eda then scribbled something on another piece of paper, tapped it, and got angry again.

"And yet--"

She tapped it again.

"--I can't do--"

And again.

"--a SIMPLE--"

And again.

"--STINKIN'--"

And again.

"--LIGHT SPELL!"

Eda had once again pounded her fist onto the table and brushed everything off out of pure anger. Eda then slammed her face onto the table and let out a loud yet muffled scream. Luz, slowly and tentatively, walked over to the old witch and laid a comforting hand on her back.

"Can I see what you have so far?" Luz suggested, "Maybe I can give you some pointers."

"Be my guest," Eda mumbles through the tabletop as she motioned to her pile of failures. "It's not like it'll do much."

Luz pouted in response. She then walked over to the pile of paper. Pulling out a crumpled piece at random, Luz studied the glyph that was drawn on it. For a while, she couldn't fully understand what Eda was doing wrong. The glyph looked almost exactly like the dozens that Luz has drawn, so it was a mystery to find what was off. After staring at it for a little while longer, Luz then knew what the issue was.

"Well, here's your problem," Luz walked back to Eda, "The glyph is right, but the circle is wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Eda looked up, and Luz decided it was best to show her. So, Luz took out a piece of paper from the notepad that she always carried and drew a light glyph of her own. She then laid out Eda's right next to Luz's for comparison.

"You see, you can’t just draw any type of circle around the glyph," Luz explained, "You have to draw a  _ perfect _ three hundred and sixty-degree circle."

"Oh, is that all?" Eda rolled her eyes with a sarcastic tone of voice, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your magic required doing the IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Actually, it's not impossible. Anybody can draw a perfect circle with ease. It just requires a lot of practice. And I mean a  _ lot  _ of practice. Besides, it should be no different from drawing spell circles with your finger."

"Yeah? Well, it isn't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It just is!"

Eda laid her head back down to the table and let out a dragged out groan. Luz felt empathetic as she gave a gentle pat on Eda's back.

"It's ok, Eda," Luz said in an attempt to be comforting, "If you want, I can just draw a bunch of glyphs for you ahead of time. I already do the same for me, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to do it for you."

"No, I have to do it myself," Eda said as she sat back up, "And I have to know how, for two reasons. One, there might be a situation where I don't have your glyphs on me, and I don't want to risk being in that whole situation. And two..."

Eda let out a tired sigh before giving Luz an answer.

"I...I don't if I'll ever have my magic back," Eda confessed, "I've searched for years looking for a cure to my curse. And the best I found was some potion that tastes like bottled farts. Seeing how that won't work this time around, it got me thinkin'...It got me thinkin' that maybe this is the new normal from now on."

Eda tapped Luz's glyph, and the paper folded in on itself to form a small ball of light.

"I need to learn how to do this myself," she continued, "Because no offense, but the idea of a fourteen-year-old being my only source of magic, just makes this whole thing feel even worse."

Luz sat silently, letting Eda's words ruminate in her head for a while. With newfound determination, she picked up her pen and held it out for Eda.

"Well, you know what they say," Luz said with a grin, "'Practice makes perfect.'"

"Kid, I don't know if you noticed, but I've already been doing a lot of practicing," Eda pointed at the pile of failed attempts for emphasis.

"I know. But this time, you got an aspiring young artist to help you. It's like I told you after escaping Belos. 'I'll teach you what I know.' Unless, of course, you’re too scared to fail?"

Luz smirked with a quirk in her eyebrow.

"Taking shots at my ego, huh?" Eda's expression then softened to a sincere grin, "Well played."

Eda then took the pen out of Luz's hand and pulled the notepad up to her.

"Just so you know, this might take a while."

"I don't care," Luz waved off Eda's concern, "I'm more than happy to help. No matter how long it takes!"

**Five Hours Later...**

_ "Ok," _ Luz yawned, not even daring to look at the time, "Let's try this again."

"We've been trying again and again for the last  _ five hours!" _ Eda crumpled her latest failure and tossed it across the room, "I hate to admit it, but I think it's safe to say that I'm demon food the next time we get into trouble."

"It's because you keep rushing the drawing," Luz pointed out, "Look at your circles. They're either too wide or too thin because you're trying to make the glyph too fast."

"Well, you make yours at a quick pace with little to no problem."

"That's because I have practice on doing it  _ correctly,"  _ Luz explained, "Trust me, the first few attempts are going to be slow once you figured out how to draw a glyph the first time. But once you get the hang of it, you'll be drawing them as fast as you want in no time."

_ "Once you get the hang of it, you'll meh meh-meh meh-meh meh!" _ Eda imitated in a mocking tone of voice. Glancing over at Luz, Eda took notice of the fact that her apprentice did not look amused.

"...Sorry," Eda apologized, "That was the ex-student in me talking. It's really your own fault for being such a dang good teacher."

"Just draw the glyph again," Luz sighed, "And remember: Focus while you do it."

Eda looked down at what was probably the last piece of paper on the notepad. Taking a deep, calming breath, she began to draw the glyph. After completing the circle, Eda raised her finger to tap it but was apprehensive in doing so. Looking to Luz, she gave Eda a thumbs up for a confidence booster. Taking what she could get, Eda closed her eyes and tapped the glyph in front of her.

And it happened.

The paper folded in on itself, and a small ball of light floated in front of Eda's face. She let one eye slightly open, only for both to grow as wide as dinner plates as she stared at the light. Her expression was a mix of shock and pure joy.

"I did it..." she said breathlessly.

"You did it!" Luz cheered.

"I DID IT!" Both Luz and Eda jumped up out of their seats, hooping and hollering at Eda's success.

"Eat it, Boiling Isles!" Eda shouted to the sky, "It's gonna take more than some dumb curse to bring Edalyn Clawthorne down!"

"I'm very proud of you, Eda!" Luz was beaming at her mentor's excitement. It was then that Eda pulled Luz into a side-hug.

"Be proud of yourself, kiddo," Eda said while giving Luz an affectionate noogie, "If it wasn't for your teaching skills, I might not have even gotten it right at all. So thanks!"

"Ok, ok," Luz laughed as she escaped Eda's affection, "You're welcome. And keep practicing if you want to be as good as I am."

"Ha! You got it, teach!" Eda winked at Luz, who then turned towards the exit and walked back into the living room. Sitting back down in front of the abomination goo, Luz picked up her still goopy magnifying glass.

"Alright," Luz whipped the goo of the glass with the bottom of her hoodie, "Now, where were we?"

"Hey, Luz!" Eda called from the kitchen, "If you're not busy, you think you could help me find some more paper to practice with? We used up a  _ lot  _ within the last few hours."

Luz stared at the goo for a second.

'Technically, I am busy,' she thought.

"...yeah, sure," Luz set her magnifying glass back down and walked back towards the kitchen.

She always can find the glyph at another time. Eda needs her now.


	3. King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: Something Adorable

**9:00 PM**

"Luz, the Human!" King stated while he stood on the couch, "Today, we prove our mettle and strength by facing off against our fiercest opponent yet. Our enemy: Sleep. Our weapons of choice: Sugary snacks and energy drinks. Together, we will show sleep who's boss by staying up until sunrise in eleven hours of anti-sleep combat!"

"In other words..." Luz, dressed in her sleepwear, dumped food, drinks, games, and movies onto the coffee table, "We're having a SLUMBER PARTY!"

"What? NO, Luz!" King cried, "Didn't you hear what I said? There will be no slumber on this night!"

"Yeah, that's what a slumber party is in my world," Luz explained, "You stay up late, play games, eat junk food, watch movies, and just have a grand old time!"

"...So, if the whole point is staying up, then why is it called a slumber party?" King asked with a tilt of his head.

_ "NoBoDy KnOwS..." _ Luz said as if she was a ghost, "But here's what I know!"

Luz scooped King up to give him the biggest of bear hugs.

"I get to spend my first ever slumber party with my favorite demon!" she squealed, unaware that her ‘favorite demon’ was suffocating in her embrace.

"Can't... _ Breath..." _ King managed to squeak out.

"Whoops! Sorry," Luz set King back down, who started gasping for air the second Luz let him go.

"It's...alright..." he said between breaths, "Besides, I like that enthusiasm! Keep that up, and this 'slumber party' shall be the precursor to our celebration for our defeat of sleep itself! For victory!"

"For victory!" Luz shouted alongside King as they both held their fists in the air. It was then that Eda popped her head out into the living room.

"Uh-huh, yeah. For victory," Eda said unamused, "Just remember to keep the volume levels to a minimum. Because I don't know if you know this, but some people are still planning to sleep tonight. In fact, some of us in this house actually prefer it."

"Says the 'night owl!'" Lilith called from somewhere in the house.

"Hey, what did I tell you?!" Eda yelled back as she exited the living room, "If you're going to live in this house, then you have to always agree with me!"

"I never agreed to that rule!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!"

"Forget them, Luz," King ordered with a wave of his paw, "History will remember them as failures who couldn't live up to the challenge!"

"Yeah!" Luz agreed, "Besides, staying up late is no sweat for me. I can't even count the number of times that I stayed up all night watching anime and reading fan-fiction. So doing it again with my little buddy? That should be a snap!"

"That's the spirit! Now, how shall we begin our battle?"

"Simple," Luz lifted up one of the movies on the table, "We start by having a movie marathon! Easily one of the best ways of staying awake."

"...Hey, Luz?"

"Yeah?"

"How are we going to watch that?"

"Well, we'll..." It had then occurred to Luz that they had neither a DVD player nor a TV to watch the movie on. "...I guess that we could always just watch a movie I downloaded on my phone."

**11:05 PM**

"So let me get this straight," King asked once the credits began to roll, "The one thing that the girl needed to do to get home was to tap those sparkly little shoes together three times and wish to do so?"

"Yup," Luz nodded her head, knowing where King was going with this.

"And the 'good witch' in the movie was the only one who knew?"

"Eeyup."

"And she didn't tell her?!"

"Nope."

"Well, what the heck!" King exclaimed, "How does that make her a good witch if she didn't share the  _ one crucial thing  _ that the main character wanted?"

"Because if she did, then there would be no one to stop the evil witch."

"Oh, that's rich," King rolled his eyes, "Sure, I guess you could help a poor little girl go home, OR you could just send a ten-year-old to her death!"

"She didn't die."

"But she could have!"

"Look, I don't know King," Luz shrugged, "The whole point of a movie is to suspend your disbelief. Besides, the entire story is confirmed to be the bizarre dream of a girl who survived in a tornado. So maybe that's the reason why nothing makes sense."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," King pouted, "Nonetheless, it was still the perfect distraction. Now let's keep this awake-train a-going! Play the next movie!"

"I can't do that."

"What? Why not?"

"Because watching that movie ate up a lot of my phone's battery," Luz explained as she shut off the device, "And you know how hard it is to charge it now that I can't open a portal to a nearby outlet."

"Don't remind me,” King groaned, “I still have this weird tingle on the end of my tail the last time we had to charge the dumb thing."

"Exactly. Which is why I only want to use it for emergencies only. And to make my wittle guy happy."

"I am not a wittle guy, but I still appreciate the sacrifice. The only problem is that now we don't have anything to combat against sleep."

"Sure, we do!" Luz got up to walk over to the table, "What's a better way of staying awake than a couple of intense rounds of a board game."

"You're aware that bored is in the title, right?"

"That may be true," Luz picked up her game of choice, "But I think you're really gonna like this one~."

**11:55 PM**

"B7!"

"Oof, that is a hit!"

"Yes!" King cheered from his side of the board, "You were right, I  _ do  _ love this game! The strategy. The militaristic combat. It is everything a future tyrant could ever hope for, and more!"

"Yeah, it really is fun," Luz agreed as she stifled a yawn, "But the game's not over yet."

"But it might as well be," King said with a cocky tone, "You got one ship left, and I have a good idea of where it could be."

"Yeah, well, I can still pull out a win."

"Even though all of my ships are fully intact?"

"You don't know," Luz looked at her map, "G6."

"Ooh! I'm afraid that is a miss!"

"Dang It!" Luz said with faux annoyance, "Alright, your turn."

"Hm...B8."

"That's it," Luz held her hands up in defeat, "You have officially sunk my last battleship."

"Yipee!" King jumped up and cheered, "I am the king of both demons and board games!"

Luz couldn't help but chuckle at the cute display.

'It's not like he  _ has  _ to know that I've been letting him win this whole time,' she thought.

"Alright, c'mon. Best--" Luz let out a brief yawn before continuing, "--best ten out of eleven."

As Luz cleared her side of the board, King stopped his celebration to stare seriously at Luz.

"What was that?"

"I said--"

"I'm not talking about what you said! I'm talking about that thing that just happened!"

"What are you--" Luz let out another yawn, "--talking about?"

"That!" King pointed an accusatory claw at Luz, "That right there!"

"...Are you talking about my yawn?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, c'mon King," Luz said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "It's not that--"

She then yawned again.

"--Not that bad."

"It is bad, though," King began to nervously pace, "Yawning means that you're getting tired. And if you're getting tired, then it's only a matter of time until you fall asleep. Which means our battle is a failure, and sleep will--"

King's thoughts were interjected with a yawn of his own. His eyes then grew wide because of it.

"Oh no, now I'm doing it!"

"Ok, ok," Luz put her hands on King's shoulders, her tone comforting. "Listen, this what the sugary snacks are for, alright? Just grab something, and we'll be back to being wide awake in no time."

"You're right!" King immediately ran to the table and grabbed a packet of gummy bears. He handed it to Luz, who opened the bag with ease and poured a few gummy bears into King's paws.

"Now, we only have a few of these snacks," Luz explained while taking a handful for herself, "So if we want to make it sunrise, then we got to use them sparingly."

"Right! Use them sparingly."

**12:15 AM**

Luz and King sat amongst discarded empty packets of snacks and drunken bottles of sugary drinks, both of them shaking with bottled up energy.

"We did not use them sparingly," King said quickly.

"No, we did not," Luz said just as quickly.

"That was a mistake."

"Sure was."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"...Hey, does it feel like your teeth are vibrating too?"

"Sure does."

"Is that normal?"

"Probably not."

"That's not good."

"Sure isn't."

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Nope."

"...But at least we're wide awake now!"

"Yeah, but that won't last."

"Whatdoyamean?"

"You see, with every sugar  _ high, _ there's always--"

**12:25 PM**

"--A sugar crash," Luz grumbled as she and King sat against each other, their eyes sagging.

"...What?" King asked with a confused tilt of his head.

"I'm telling you that we're experiencing a sugar crash. You know, that thing I mentioned a few minutes ago."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Both Luz and King let out a simultaneous yawn.

"I am so tired," Luz mumbled, "I think it's time we surrender and let sleep win."

"No. NO!" King stood in front of Luz to get her attention, "You listen to me, and you listen good: We have already made it past midnight. There is no going back from that!"

"But King..."

"Butts are for pooping! We just need a new way of staying up."

"How? We ate all the sugar."

"Hm..." King scratched his chin in thought when an idea suddenly came to him. "I've got it! Slap me!"

"What?" Luz was now slightly more awake after the suggestion.

"Slap me, then I’ll slap you," King explained, "The shock from the pain should be enough to wake both of us up."

"That's ridiculous. I'm not going to slap you."

"Luz, we can't let sleep win!" King begged, "Just go ahead and slap me, real quick. I swear that I won't take it personally."

Luz mumbled as she considered doing what King asked.

"Alright," she eventually said, "But just know that I'm sorry for doing this."

Luz raised her hand, and King turned his cheek in preparation. Only to feel a light smack instead of a painful slap.

"No, it has to actually hurt!" King exclaimed, "Like this."

King then slapped Luz with a loud  _ SMACK! _

"Ow!" Luz then slapped King equally hard in response.

"Yes! That's more like it!"

_ Smack! _

"Ow!"

_ Smack! _

"Ow!" King now looked annoyed, "Hey, not that hard!"

_ SMACK! _

"OW!"

_ SMACK! _

"OW!"

_ SMACK! _

_ "OW!" _

Luz raised her arm again to slap harder than before.

"Alright, alright! Truce! TRUCE!" King said with his paws raised, "Did it work? Are you more awake now?"

"Yeah, and I'm a little angry too!" Luz slapped King one last time.

"Ow!" King rubbed his cheek, "Ok, I'll let you have that one for free. Now, what's next for our agenda against sleep?"

"Hm..." Luz thought for a second, "We could play truth or dare."

"Perfect...What's truth or dare?"

"It's a game where you give the other player a choice. Either to tell an embarrassing truth or to do a dumb dare."

_ "Ooh!  _ Embarrassment and entertainment. I'm in!"

"Alright, then. Truth or dare?"

"I choose truth," King said without hesitation, "I got nothing to hide."

"Ok...What is your greatest fear?"

"Easy. Nothing."

Luz raised an eyebrow at the notion.

"Really?" she asked skeptically, "There is nothing you're afraid of?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Alright, fine," King groaned, "If you're going to be annoying about it, there is one thing that I'm maybe, sort of afraid of."

"What is it?"

"Well...There was this one time Eda brought this thing from the human realm. It was about half her size and looked like it needed what you humans called eel-ick-try-city."

"...Do you mean: electricity?"

"Yeah, whatever," King waved a dismissive paw in response, "Eda did a lightning spell on the thing, and when it turned on, it made this awful noise. It was so loud, so guttural that I still have nightmares about it."

King shuddered at the memory, but Luz couldn't help but wrack her brain. As far as she knew, there wasn't anything that reminded her of King just described. After a short while, Luz slowly realized something and forced herself to hold back a smile.

"This thing that Eda found," Luz said, "Did it have a handle on it that made it look like you can push it back and forth?"

"Yes!" King frantically nodded his head, "Yes, it did!"

Luz bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

"King," she tried to keep her voice even, "Are you telling me that you're afraid of a  _ vacuum cleaner?" _

"...Are you laughing at my torture?!" King shouted, his eyes full of rage.

"What, no. No," Luz brushed off the claim, "It's just that..."

"...It's just  _ what,  _ Luz?"

"It's just that..." a bright, goofy smile spread across Luz's face, "That is the most adorable thing I have ever heard!"

"I've been scarred for life, and you find that adorable?!" King asked out of disbelief, "That is  _ sick. _ Seriously, I'm the literal King of demons, and even I think that's sick."

"It makes sense for where I'm from," Luz explained, "But if it makes you feel better, I pick 'dare' for my turn."

"Oh," King began to menacingly rub his claws together, "That was a mistake."

**1:18 AM**

Luz sat at the kitchen table as King pushed a plate with a sandwich on it. From what Luz could tell, the contents of the sandwich were expired ham, blue cheese, a pair of men's underwear (somehow), topped with ranch dressing. All of which were between two slightly moldy pieces of bread.

"I dare you to take a bite, just a single bite, of this," King commanded.

"...You were right," Luz stated, her stomach sinking, "That was a mistake."

"Sure was. Now get to chewing before I change my mind and have you eat the whole thing."

**1:49 AM**

Luz and King lay flat down on the living room floor, heads facing opposite of each other as they stared up at the ceiling. Both of them looked as though they could pass out at any moment.

"Can it be bought in a store?" Luz asked slowly.

"No," King muttered.

"Can it be bought at all?"

"No."

"...Did I use up my twenty questions yet?"

"You did now. And for the record--" King let out a yawn, "--my brain is so much like mush at the moment that I can't even remember what the thing I was thinking even was."

"Yeah, my brain's mush too. Can we go to sleep  _ now?" _

"No," King commanded, "Not until sunrise."

"In that case, we're going to need something to wake us up...Do not slap me again!"

"Wasn't even planning on it," King admitted, "Not only because that was clearly a dumb idea, but also because I don't have the energy to even think about slapping somebody. We're gonna need a new plan of action. Any ideas?"

"Um...Yeah. Yeah, actually, I think I got something. Follow me."

**2:03 AM**

Luz tapped yet another ice glyph and let the newly formed ice cube plop into the bathtub, which was now filled to the brim with water that had several bits of ice on the bottom.

"Ok," Luz yawned, "This should be cold enough. You ready, King?"

"Are you sure this will work?" King stared at the bathtub skeptically.

"Either it will or it won't," Luz shrugged, "There's only one way to find out."

"I guess there is," Both Luz and King knelt down in front of the bathtub, "We do it together on three. One. Two.  _ Three!" _

The two of them dunk their heads in, letting the coldness of the water sink into their senses for a few short seconds. Finally, they let their heads out, gasping for air as they did so.

"Woah, MAMA!" Luz shouted.

"Yeah, that sure worked!" King shouted back, his energy returning to him.

"Yup! And I feel great!"

"Me too! I feel like I can conquer ANYTHING!"

**3:03 AM**

"I can't conquer sleep, Luz," King admitted, sounding both tired and defeated as he laid his weight against Luz's side as they sat on the couch. "I am so tired. So incredibly tired that it's taking all of my will to keep my eyes open."

"Yeah, I'm with you there," Luz conceded, not entirely sure if the moment she's in is even happening right now.

"Luz?"

"Yeah, King?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"...Sure. What is it?"

"Promise me--" King yawned, "--Promise me that if I fall asleep first, you will carry on the fight without me. For my honor!"

"Alright, I gotta ask because at this point I don't even know anymore," Luz looked down at King, "You  _ do  _ realize that we're not fighting anything, right? Like, sleep isn't an actual living being. It's a state of body and mind that everyone goes through to recharge their batteries."

"I know that..."

"Then why is it so important to you that we stay awake until sunrise?"

"Because..." It looked as though King was forcing himself to stay awake at this point as he was being overtaken by the urge to sleep. "Because I'm supposed to be the all terrifying...all knowing...king--'King of demons!' If I can't do something as simple...as simple as staying up all night...then I might as well be...I might as well be that dumb dog from that dumb movie you made me watch. Where my only role is to be cute and useless."

Luz knew the second he said the word 'cute' that King wasn't messing around. He never called himself cute. Never!

"Aw, King," Luz scratched his head to comfort him, "Don't think like that. You're plenty scary."

"Hm..." King mumbled, "Tell me how scary I am..."

Luz chucked at how he said it like a five-year-old wanting a story.

"You are the scariest demon that I have ever faced in the Boiling Isles," Luz exaggerated, "And you are not useless. You've helped Eda and me a bunch of times and did a lot to help break Eda out of the Coformitorium. You might not think you've done anything major, but without you, we'd be pretty lost, King...King?"

Luz heard a small and adorable snore from next to her. Facing King, she noticed that the little guy had finally conked out as he laid the rest of his weight against Luz. She smiled and gently placed him onto her lap, to which the little demon unconsciously curled up into a ball.

"Don't worry," Luz whispered as she pets him, "I'll stay awake for the both of us. FoR yOuR hOnOr...Oh man, I am so tired right now..."

And yet, Luz stayed up until 7:03 AM, right as the sun rose.

She can go to sleep at any time tomorrow. King needs her now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be the first to admit that this is more comedic than adorable, but I included a scene where Luz and King slapped each other for a minute...it's a fair trade in my opinion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: Free Day

"Hey," Luz said, "I know we've only known each other for a short time, but I just want to say: I love you. I love and appreciate you, and I could not be happier to have you in my life. Because every day,  _ my _ happiness depends on  _ your _ happiness...So can you  _ please  _ give me my books already?!"

Luz's locker growled in response.

"Oh, c'mon!" Luz whined, "My healing class is gonna start any minute, and I need the biology book for it! So can you help me? Pretty please?"

The locker growled again, but it was a little more subdued this time. Eventually, it spat out a book, to which Luz bent down to pick it up with a smile. Only for that smile to be replaced with a frown once she saw the book in question.

"No, not my  _ history _ book, my  _ biology _ book!"

Instead of conceding, the locker blew a raspberry.

"¡Estúpido casillero!" Luz shouted while kicking the locker out of frustration. She was ready to do even more, but a tap on her shoulder got Luz's attention. Turning around, Luz saw Willow, who stared at Luz with the widest of smiles.

"Hi, Luz!" she said with a wave.

"Oh, hi, Willow," Luz gave a wave of her own, "Hey, you think you could help me with my locker? It's being more of a butt today, and it won't give me my--"

"I messed up."

Luz blinked a couple times as she processed what Willow said. Taking a closer look, Luz noticed that her friend was actually forcing her smile and that Willow's eyes were filled to the brim with panic.

"Um...Ok?" Luz said slowly, "What happened?"

"Well...Boscha's been extra annoying lately" Willow's smile faltered as she explained, "So I thought 'what would Luz do?' Which led to me putting this thing called a 'makeup bomb' into her locker."

"That's awesome!" Luz exclaimed, but her excitement dwindled when she remembered something. "But, wait, how did you screw it up? Did it not work?"

"Oh, no, it worked," Willow shook her head, "The problem is that it might have worked  _ too _ well."

"What do you--"

"WHO?! DID?! THIS?!?!"

Both Luz and Willow flinched at the sudden screech. Looking down the hall, they saw a student walk around the corner, and it took Luz a second to realize it was Boscha. She was unrecognizable due to her pink face and hair being drastically changed. Instead, her face was covered with white face paint, her lips were red with lipstick, it looked as though that black eyeshadow was leaking down the bottom of her eyes, and her hair was neon green and looked like it went through a wind tunnel. It reminded Luz of a comic book villain from her world, which would have been funny if not for the murderous look in Boscha's eyes.

"WELL?!" Boscha shouted, "Is anybody going to SPEAK UP!"

Surprisingly, everyone in the hallway was dead quiet.

"Actually, you know what? That's smart. And here's why: The second--THE! SECOND!--that I find out who's responsible for this, they are going to learn suffering like NO OTHER!"

Boscha accentuated her point by kicking a garbage can so hard that she actually put a hefty dent into it. Once she walked back around the corner she came from, Luz looked at Willow with the widest eyes possible.

"...yeah, that's too far," Luz simply stated.

"I know..." Willow whimpered.

"How did this happen?!" Luz whisper-shouted, "You're supposed to be the friend with the one brain cell. You are literally the only one of us who’s capable of knowing better!"

"I didn't think it would be that bad!" Willow whispered back, "I just thought it would make her look a little embarrassing. Not like...like..."

"The Joker's deranged daughter?" Luz supplied.

"I don't know what that means, but sure," Willow sighed, "Do you think I should tell her?"

"Are you insane!" Luz actually shouted this time, only going back to whispering when noticing the curious looks, "You can never tell her. Because if you do, Boscha will  _ murder _ you."

"But if I say nothing, then Boscha will probably torture the whole school until she finds the culprit!" Willow looked conflicted. As if she knew that she had to own up to her mistake but was also aware that doing so would be an even bigger mistake. And Luz couldn't stand to see her friend like this. Which is why she came up with the perfect plan.

"What if I talk to Boscha instead?"

"What?" Willow looked at Luz with an expression that was a mix of shock and confusion.

"Yeah! I have potions with her today," Luz explained, "I'll just talk to her, say that the makeup bomber is really,  _ really  _ sorry, and maybe she'll understand and let the whole thing go!"

"..." Willow raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"...And I just heard the words that just came out of my mouth," Luz said, slightly downhearted, "But it's worth a shot, right?"

"I guess," Willow shrugged, "But whatever happens, I'm going to tell Boscha what I did by the end of the day. Hopefully, she'll have cooled down by then."

Willow sighed as she shuffled away.

"If you need me, I'll be with the rest of the plant track," she said, "I'll be the one who’s busy making the floral arrangement for my funeral."

Luz pouted and was about to say something encouraging, but that's when the bell decided to scream, forcing Luz to reluctantly walk in the opposite direction toward her next class. It took her until she was halfway there before realizing that she still didn't have the right book.

**An Hour Later.**

Luz walked into her potions class to see Boscha already sitting at their shared cauldron, the makeup still covering her face. Taking a deep breath, Luz forced a smile and strolled over to Boscha.

"Hey Boscha--"

"What was our agreement?" Boscha asked, clearly remembering the answer.

"To only speak when spoken to," Luz answered.

"Exactly. I am in no mood to deal with your...Luz-ness today. So just sit down, and shut up!"

Luz briefly lost her enthusiasm to talk and decided to do what Boscha said. For a while, both girls remained quiet.

"..."

"..."

"...The thing is--"

Boscha made a noise that sounded like a mix between a groan and a whine.

"Look, I just want to talk about..." Luz gestured at Boscha's head, "That whole situation."

"Oh, don't get me started on that," Boscha picked up the mixing spoon on the table, and it seemed as though she was trying to snap it in half. "Whoever did this is going to regret being born. I'll make sure of that."

"Well, actually, I think you should probably...let it go?" Luz suggested with a squeak and nervous smile.

"And why in the name of the Titan should I do that?!" Boscha looked incredulously at Luz.

"I mean, yeah, what the person did to you wasn't the best--"

"It's literally the worst thing a person could do to someone else!"

"Not true, but let's not get into that," Luz smiled nervously again, "Instead, let's get into the concept of forgiveness. Because I'm more than certain that whoever put the makeup bomb in your locker, is really,  _ incredibly,  _ sorry for doing so."

For a brief amount of time, Boscha stared blankly at Luz, the gears clearly turning in her head. Then Boscha's expression turned that of suspicion as she accusingly pointed the spoon at Luz.

"You know who it is."

"No, I don't! Luz said a little too quickly.

"No, no, you do. You totally do. I know it. You wanna know how  _ I know _ that  _ you know _ who did it?"

"Um..."

"Because you said that whoever did this used a makeup bomb. You're not from here, and you could have known that existed if the person who did this told you about it."

Luz's face paled once hearing that accurate assumption.

"Or, maybe--" But Luz didn't get to finish her sentence as Boscha grabbed Luz by the front of her uniform and pulled her close to Boscha's face.

"Tell me who used a makeup bomb before I shove  _ this _ up your nose," Boscha growled, lifting up the wooden spoon in the process. Luz looked at the utensil and back at Boscha's face, taking notice at how angry the other girl looked. Luz weighed her options, realizing that there was no right answer for this situation.

"Who did it?" Luz repeated, "Well, it was, um..."

Then, an idea popped into Luz's head.

"I did it," she said with little hesitation, "I'm the one who put the makeup bomb in your locker."

Boscha's grip on the spoon tightened to the point where it snapped in half.

"...wHaT..." she snarled, causing Luz to gulp in response.

'At least she'll know my fear is real,' Luz thought.

"You see--uh," Luz stuttered, "You--um--You wouldn't stop picking on Willow, so I thought I'd get you back in some way. As a way to, uh--a-hem--defend her honor. I told Eda this, and she gave me the makeup bomb to put in your locker. I thought it would make you look a  _ little _ embarrassing, but in no way did I mean for..."

Luz gestured at Boscha's face again.

"All of that. But, for the record, I am incredibly sorry for doing this, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"So, let me get this straight," Boscha grabbed the front of Luz's uniform with both hands this time. "The only reason you're apologizing is that it turned out worse than you expected. And if it was still bad, but not as bad, then you wouldn't have said anything?"

"I mean, if you put it like that, it sounds wrong," Luz's smile was a nervous one now, "But I am sorry though, and I swear that something like this will never happen again. So..."

Luz held out her hand for Boscha to shake.

"We good?"

*******

Luz's expression was that of melancholy as she was duct-taped to the far wall of the girl's bathroom, her mouth taped shut, and the sentence 'I am a round-eared, two-eyed, Luz-er' written on her face. In other words, Boscha took the news far better than Luz expected. 

Luz lost track of how long she's been stuck to the wall and fully expected to stay stuck for the rest of the day. That is until Willow busted into the girl's bathroom, looking worried only to then look downhearted.

"I was hoping that people were wrong when I heard that this happened," she sighed while walking over, "Are you ok, Luz?"

Luz gave a series of muffled noises in response. It was at that moment that Willow realized the tape on Luz's mouth.

"Hang on," Willow said as she reached for the tape, "I'm going to pull on three, alright? And when I do it, it's going to be like a bandaid, but much more painful, ok? You ready?”

Luz gave a short nod.

"Ok. One...two... _ three!" _

Willow pulled as hard as she did, and the tape came off in an instant. To which Luz screamed in pain.

"Sorry, sorry," Willow quickly apologized.

"It's ok," Luz reassured her, "At least you didn't use that jerk move of pulling the tape on two instead of three."

"People do that?"

"They do in movies and TV."

"Well, I am sorry, though," Willow began peeling off the rest of the duct-tape, "Not just for the tape, but for the fact that this even happened to you in the first place. I should have just come clean to Boscha the second the makeup bomb went off."

"And go through what I just did?!" Luz asked with a shocked tone once the rest of the tape came off. "Not a chance. I'm glad that she did this to me, especially knowing that it didn't happen to you."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I still feel horrible for what Boscha did to you."

"Don't worry about it," Luz waved off the notion, "I have had much worse happen to me."

"Worse than this?!"

"Yeah. In fact, all of this?" Luz gestured to what Boscha wrote, "This isn't even the worst thing a person wrote on my face. I've had bullies wrote much worse things like Psycho, Scatter-brained idiot, and...uh...well."

Luz motioned for Willow to come closer, to which Luz whispered something into her friend's ear. And as she did, Willow's eyes grew wider and wider.

"People called you _ that?!" _ Willow couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Yeah, kids didn't really like me back home," Luz shrugged, "So it's fine. Really."

"Even if you're not bothered by all of this, I still am. I can't live with myself, knowing that you got punished for a dumb mistake that I made. Which is why I'm going to tell Boscha the truth."

"Willow..."

"I will fully accept any and every punishment that Boscha has to offer," Willow stated, "This my fight Luz. You should have never been a part of it."

Luz shuffled her feet abashedly.

"If that's what you want, then I won't stop you," she said, "But at least let me be there with you. Or at least nearby. Because you might be ok with whatever Boscha does to you, but I'd sooner get taped to another while rather than stand by and do nothing."

Willow smiled.

"Of course."

Luz and Willow walked out of the bathroom together, neither realizing that Luz still had Boscha's sentence written on her face.

But Luz can clean that off later. Willow needs her now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will greatly appreciate the first person who draws Boscha as the deranged daughter of the Joker. I know that this is Luz's week, but that image is just amazing to me.


	5. Lilith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: AGNST

"Lilith!" Luz called out as she walked through the woods by the Owl House, "Are you here?! Because Eda said that dinner is going to be ready in a few minutes! She also said that if you don't show up, she'll feed your portion to Hooty!"

Luz could not be any less excited to search for the ex-head of the Emperor's Coven. Ever since freeing Eda, Luz did everything she could to avoid Lilith. But at the same time, Luz couldn't let Lilith starve or be taken advantage of by dangerous creatures in the forest. So, she continued her trek through the woods, hoping and searching to find elder Clawthorne.

"Lilith!" Luz shouted again, coming across a clearing. And that's where she found her: Lilith. Facing away from Luz, sitting on a stump, head in her hands and shoulders shaking. As Luz got closer, she swore she could hear light sobbing.

"Lilith?" she asked, startling the witch. Lilith then sat up straight and began to quickly and discreetly away at her eyes.

"Oh, h-hello, Hu-Human," she stuttered, "When did you get here?"

Luz tilted her head out of confusion.

"I've been calling your name for a while now."

"Really?" Lilith sounded genuinely shocked, "I...I hadn't noticed."

"Are you, um..." Luz walked around to try and face Lilith, "Are you ok?"

"Of course I'm ok," Lilith said in an instant, turning away from Luz, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've clearly been crying?"

Lilith said nothing in response. Instead, she continued to look away from Luz and sat in silence.

"Well, if you're really ok, then you should know dinner's going to be ready soon," Luz explained, "So if you want to eat, you better follow me back to the owl house."

"That's quite alright," Lilith's voice was shaky, "I'm not hungry."

"You sure?" Luz tried to force out her playful energy, "Because Eda said she's making something called 'Death Pepper Chili~.' I've never had it, but it sounds delicious."

"Hm," Lilith mumbled, "She still enjoys making that, huh?"

"I mean, I've never seen her make it before," Luz shrugged, "Why? Did she make it a lot?"

"Oh yeah," Lilith gave a light chuckle, "When we were younger, it was almost always what she would eat. She would empty out an entire pot within an hour after it was ready. And I would be amazed, as well as disgusted, by her doing so. 'How could you do that without getting sick?' I would ask. And she would insistently mock me by saying that I just had a 'weak stomach.'"

Lilith let out a watery laugh at the memory, only to then look crestfallen.

"Things were...much simpler back then."

Luz pouted, and for the first time in her life, she questioned whether or not to comfort somebody. If it was Willow, Amity, and especially Eda, Luz would have been encouraging within an instant. But Lilith? The person who cursed Eda and put Luz's own life in danger? Needless to say, Luz had to take her time to convince herself to help.

"Do you..." she briefly hesitated, "Do you want to talk?"

"About what?" Lilith grumbled.

"About what's clearly bothering you."

Lilith chose to be silent again. For a while, Luz almost took the silence as an answer and contemplated walking back.

"I used to be one of the most respected witches on all the Boiling Isles," Lilith eventually explained. "My magic was impeccable, children looked up to me, my colleagues followed every command I gave them, and I used to live in this glorious house with an exquisite view of the isles. My only regret in life was...what I've done to Edalyn."

Luz felt something twist in her gut when Lilith didn't explicitly admit to cursing Eda.

"I wanted nothing more than to make things right with her," Lilith continued, "To reverse my mistake and to have my sister back. Go figure that the only way to do that was to lose everything I've worked hard to maintain. Now, my magic is dwindling, people are told to fear me, my colleagues are hunting me like a wild animal, and I live in a dusty hovel of a shack because there is no way that I'll be safe in my previous home! My only solace would be that I have my sister back, but even that's not the case."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?!" Lilith repeated, her tone that being one of shock. "What I mean is that she hates me, Human! I understand why, yes, but it...It's heartbreaking. Heartbreaking that after all the sacrifices I've made, that I still didn't get what I wanted most."

"Which is?"

"Which is...Which is for us to be sisters again. To make fun of each other with a sense of merriment rather than hostility. To duel each other as if it were a game rather than a fight to the death. To just...to just have her look at me as I was family, rather than another bit of her garbage that she has to take care of."

Lilith buried her face in her hands, and Luz felt a tug at her heartstrings as she watched the display. No matter what her feelings were for Lilith, Luz still didn't have a heart of stone.

"I..." Luz sat down in the little bit of room on the stump before continuing, "I'm sure Eda will forgive you."

"You don't know that she will," Lilith mumbled.

"But you don't know that she  _ won't," _ Luz pointed out and looked down as a sad frown of her own began to form, "And, for the record, I might have an idea of how you might feel."

"How?"

Luz looked up in surprise at the anger in Lilith's voice.

"What do you--"

"How could you possibly know what I'm going through?" Lilith was glaring at Luz now.

"I...well...Ok, so I don't know what you're  _ exactly _ going through," Luz confessed, "But I do know how it feels to sacrifice everything and get little of what you want in return."

Lilith scoffed at the notion.

"What?" Luz felt the same feeling from earlier burning in her stomach.

"No offense, Human, but you're just a child. I doubt you fully understand the meaning of sacrifice."

"Are you kidding me?" Luz all but growled, and Lilith soon realized her mistake.

"I--"

"'I don't understand sacrifice?'" Luz stood up and glared at the woman in front of her, "Were you not paying attention these last few days? I destroyed the portal to the human realm.  _ My home. _ Everything that I knew and loved is gone, and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to any of it. And I did it so I could save Eda, King, and  _ you!" _

"We're...We're finding you a new portal," Lilith was grasping at straws in a pathetic attempt to defend herself. "You'll be back home in no time--"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Luz's scream practically echoed throughout the entire isles, and Lilith sat in stunned silence because of it.

"Admit it!" Luz shouted as her own tears started to slip out, "You don't know that I'll go back home! You don't know if I'll ever see my mom again! You don't know if there's even a way to find a new portal! You don't know any of that! Now ADMIT IT!"

Lilith remained silent, clearly shocked that Luz was capable of such sadness.

"...You're right," she conceded, "I don't know if any of that is true. I really don't."

"Exactly," Luz said, forcing herself to calm down, "I threw away everything I know just so I could stop Eda from becoming another addition to the Emperor's statue garden. A decision I wouldn't have made if you didn't capture her in the first place! So go ahead and be sad all you want about your 'sacrifices.' It doesn't change the fact that you deserve every bit of punishment karma finally threw at you!"

Despite trying to calm down, Luz was seething at the moment. But the second she saw new tears well up in Lilith's eyes, Luz's heart sank as she thought she had gone too far.

"I'm--"

"Don't!" Lilith held up a hand to silence Luz. "Don't...Don't you dare apologize to me. Because you're right. I do deserve this. And I don't...I don't know what I was thinking of believing that I deserve better."

At that point, Lilith broke down. Completely sobbing into her hands, not caring whether or not someone saw her at her weakest. As for Luz, she just stood there, debating what she should do. Or, at least, what she wanted to do. Because she wanted to just walk away and let Lilith sob her eyes out so the guilt can finally sink in.

But instead, she sat back down next to Lilith, rubbing comforting patterns on her back as Lilith cried harder than anyone Luz had ever met.

"You want to know why I'm sure that Eda will forgive you?" she asked when it seemed like Lilith was starting to calm down, "Because she clearly cares about you."

"How--how--how--" Lilith couldn't get her question out through her hiccups.

"Because if she really hated you, then she wouldn't let you live in her house," Luz explained, fully knowing what the question was. "Think about it: Anybody else would have thrown you out into the woods to fend for yourself, not caring about what happens to you. But Eda didn't do that. Instead, she gave you your own room. She gave you a  _ second chance _ .

"My mom once told me that forgiveness is something a person earns, not just to hand out after the first 'sorry' or good deed. You taking half of Eda's curse is a great start, but it doesn't make up for the years of suffering that she had to go through. If you really want to go back to how things were, then you need to actually prove that you're worth forgiving."

Lilith remained silent. The words Luz had said clearly sinking in.

"Why?" she eventually whispered.

"Why what?"

"Why are you being so kind to me?" Lilith looked at Luz, looking confused and bewildered, "After everything I have done to you, you still react with such kindness. Why?"

"...Why not?" Luz simply shrugged. This caused Lilith to look even more stunned, incapable of understanding what Luz had just said. What Luz had done.

"Look," Luz got up again, "You can sulk out here all you want. But dinner is probably ready by now, and Eda did not look like she was joking when she said she'll feed yours to Hooty. So are you going to sit out here and feel sorry for yourself? Or are you gonna come with me and eat?"

Lilith did nothing but stare at Luz in another shocking silence. Slowly but surely, her resolve was clear, and she had eventually got up and off the stump.

"There you go," Luz turned around to walk away, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her tracks.

"Luz?"

Luz turned to look at Lilith, whose smile was warm, but her eyes were filled with more tears.

"Thank you," she whimpered, "Thank you for being so kind. I can see why Edalyn cares about you."

Luz offered a polite smile in return.

"You're welcome."

She can be angry later. Lilith needs her now.


	6. Amity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: Shipping Day
> 
> TW: The Blight parents being the Blight parents

Luz took in the sights around her as she walked to Hexide. Usually, Eda would fly Luz over on Owlbert. But Eda and Lilith said they may have found something that might cure their curse, so they had to leave as soon as possible. Luz didn't mind because she actually enjoyed getting to walk to school and seeing the beauty of the Boiling Isles around her. Try as she might, she will never stop being amazed at how amazing everything looks.

As she continued to look around, Luz saw a familiar figure up ahead: A person with green hair, wobbling with a crutch, and struggling to carry three textbooks. Just the sight of her made Luz's stomach warm up with something fierce.

"Amity!" she called out while running to her friend. Although, Luz believes she might have been too loud when shouting Amity's name because the girl immediately dropped her books out of surprise. When Amity turned around, there was a light blush on her face. A blush that grew brighter as Luz got closer.

"Luz!" she exclaimed, "H--Hey! Hi! Wha--Why--What are you doing here?"

"I'm walking--"

"Walking to school!" Amity finished, "Yup! That makes sense! Because why else would you be out here on a school day? Because we go to the same school now...together...you and me...together...I really need to learn how to stop talking."

Amity whispered that last part, and Luz couldn't help but feel confused. She would have thought more about Amity’s actions when she realized something.

"You need help," It was more of a statement of fact rather than a question. Luz then bent down to grab each of Amity's books.

"Oh, you don't have to do that!"

"I know," Luz stood up with all of Amity's books in her hands, "But I want to."

Amity's response was silent as she stared at Luz with an unreadable expression.

"O--Ok," Amity stuttered, "If you're really alright with it."

"I am," Luz said as she began walking, to which Amity followed. "How's the leg, by the way?"

"It's healed enough where I can finally walk again," Amity's composure returned as she explained, "Sure, I still have to use a crutch, but it's better than staying in my bed all day. Seriously, if I had to spend one more second laying down, I might have just eaten my pillow."

"Getting a little stir-crazy, huh?"

"You have no idea. It's even worse because I had to deal with Edric and Emira. For the last few days, they've been relentless by 'playing doctor,' pretending that I was fragile and helpless, and consistently mocking me about--"

Amity's mouth clamped shut before saying anything else, causing Luz to curiously look over and notice the blush returning.

"About what?" Luz prompted.

“Um…” Amity drummed her fingers onto the handle of her crutch, clearly debating whether or not to admit something. “...They were...mocking me about...breaking my leg to help you?”

"Why would they mock you about that?"

"I don't know!" Amity said between nervous laughter, "Why do they do anything? They're just annoying like that, you know?"

"Um, sure?" Luz couldn't understand why Amity was so nervous. In fact, she couldn't understand why Amity was so jittery in general lately. Every time Luz had interacted with her, Amity would always be a stuttery blushing mess, and Luz couldn't tell why. It felt like her brain was screaming about it being something obvious, and yet Luz couldn't connect the dots.

'She was even like this when I borrowed abomination goo the other day,' Luz thought, 'But what is it about doing  _ that _ caused her to be so--wait a minute.'

"Hey, how come you didn't summon an abomination?" Luz asked.

"Hm?"

"On my first day at Hexide, I noticed that you had an abomination carrying your books for you. So why can't you do that now?"

"Oh, well, because my family doctor said that for my leg to heal faster, I shouldn't overexert myself. According to them, I have to summon an abomination only when it's absolutely necessary. Like, if I'm presenting for a class or being chased by a monster. Stuff like that."

"Oh. Well, why didn't your parents at least drop you off a little closer to the school?" Luz couldn't help but notice that they were still a ways away from Hexide.

"Actually..." Amity hesitated before answering, "My parents refused to give me rides at all."

"What?!"

"Yeah. My mother said, and I quote: 'If you are to be reckless enough to break your leg, then you should live with the consequences that come from it.' Which means hobbling to school every day until my leg heals."

"Wait, have you been walking all the way from Blight Manor?" Luz got confirmation from the fact that Amity said nothing, her expression pained, "That's, like, the opposite of what your doctor said! How could you not overexert yourself when you're forced to overexert yourself!?"

Amity responded with a sad shrug.

"...Couldn't Ed and Em at least help you carry your books?"

"Nope. Because they have been given strict orders to not help in any way."

"Are you kidding me?!?!"

"I wish I was," Amity admitted, "You've seen what they're like in Willow's memory. They are not the best type of people."

"Still, I can't believe that they did that to you! And I  _ really  _ can't believe that Ed and Em just go along with it!"

"Trust me, they are really upset about the whole thing. But what can they do?"

"Say, no?" Luz suggested, "Or better yet, break the rules. That hasn't stopped them before, and it's not like your parents would know that Ed and Em would help."

"Yes, they would," Amity stated, "They always know."

That stunned Luz to silence. She felt something boiling inside her like no anger she felt before. The only time she felt close to this angry was when Lilith captured Eda, and even then, it seems more toned down than what she's feeling now. Luz would have continued to rant about how awful Amity's parents are when an idea popped into Luz's head. A plan that let a smug grin slowly forming on her face.

"Well then it's a good thing that they can't know anything that I can do," Luz said, "Because there's no way they would notice me doing something like, let's say, wait for you near Blight Manor to carry your books. And offer the occasional piggy-back ride. If you're lucky."

That offer caused Amity to stop in her tracks, forcing Luz to stop as well. When she saw her friend, Amity looked as though she was both amazed as well as surprised at what Luz said.

"You...You don't have to--"

"I know," Luz answered, "But I want to. And hey, if you want, I'll even act as an abomination. You know, as a way to make this whole thing seem a little more normal."

Luz proved her point by walking ahead, imitating an abomination with her eyes crossed and her movements wobbly. That caused a genuine and hearty laugh to escape Amity, who struggled to keep up due to laughing so hard. The whole thing caused a warm feeling to spread throughout Luz's body, as she let loose a smile, knowing Amity was feeling better. For reasons she can't explain, making Amity happy had always made Luz happy as well.

They continued to walk in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence. If anything, it was more of a comfortable one. Once Hexide came into view, Luz glanced over at Amity to see if she was still doing ok. Only to catch Amity staring at Luz with an almost mesmerizing look in her eyes. Once she got caught, those same eyes grew wide, and Amity quickly turned her flushed face to look forward again. Luz let out a chuckle at the display.

'While it's weird that she acts like this, Amity sure does look adorable when she's flustered,' Luz blinked out of surprise after that thought, 'Woah. Where did that come from?'

Luz glanced back at Amity.

'I mean, yeah. I guess you could say that Amity looks pretty. Objectively,' Luz ruminated on that last thought, "No...not objectively. And definitely not ‘ _ I guess _ .’ Because Amity looks pretty. That's a statement of fact.'

Luz's eyes began to soften as she looked at the girl beside her.

'And I mean,  _ really  _ pretty. Wait. Is it weird to think that? I mean, she's my friend. And friends don't usually--'

But before Luz thought any further, Amity glanced over, making it Luz's turn to quickly look ahead with her face flushed.

'Oh man, I hope she didn't think I was staring,' Luz thought, feeling something churn in her stomach, 'Hang on a sec. Why was I even staring in the first place? It's not like...I...Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh nonononononono. Please tell me it's not that. Not her!'

Luz glanced back for a second and felt an all too familiar feeling when she saw Amity. A feeling that Luz felt several times back home.

'Yup,' she internally sighed, 'Luz Noceda, you have a crush on Amity Blight. Explains a lot, come to think of it. Now, strap in, girl. 'Cause it's gonna be a long, bumpy, and insanely awkward ride from here on out. Because you may not have the experience, but something tells me crushes are even worse if it's with a close friend.'

The two witches-in-training continued to walk together. This time, the silence was very much awkward. And Luz and Amity remained silent right when they got to the front steps of the school.

"Hey, Luz?"

"Yeah?" Luz looked at Amity and, surprise surprise, she was still blushing.

"I'm actually glad to run into you," she said, "Or, I guess you ran into me--It doesn't matter! The point is, I was planning to talk to you today, anyways."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because, um..." Amity fiddled with her crutch as she talked, "I was hoping--I--I  _ thought _ that I could ask you something."

"Sure," Luz held the door open and let Amity slightly lead the way to her class, "What do you want to ask?"

"Uh, well, you see-er--would you, um--" Amity cleared her throat before continuing, "Y-you see, there's this fantasy book fair coming up this Saturday. It will have b-books being sold that, uh, aren't too far off from  _ The Good Witch Azura  _ series, and even a c-contest to dress up as your favorite fantasy character. And I w-was wondering if--And it's ok if you don't want to! But I was wondering if...If you would like to go to that. Together. With me."

"Are you serious?" Amity briefly looked distraught until Luz added: "That sounds AWESOME! I would absolutely  _ love  _ to go to that!"

"You would?" Amity's eyes gleamed at the notion, and Luz didn't understand why.

"Well, yeah. Of course, I would," Luz said as if it was nothing, "Who else is going, by the way?"

And once again, Amity looked disheartened. Luz wondered what she did wrong, but that's when Amity spoke up.

"Actually," she said with determination in her eyes, "I was thinking that it would just be you and me...alone...surrounded by dozens of people, sure. But, still, it would be just the two of us...is that ok?"

Luz's heartbeat sped up at Amity's clarification.

'You just realized that you had a crush on her, and  _ now  _ she wants to invite you to have some alone time?' she thought, 'You're either the luckiest or unluckiest girl on the planet right now.'

"Er, uh, yeah!" Luz stuttered, her face warm, "Yeah, that seems like fun!"

"Really?" Amity seemed astounded by Luz’s agreement as she stopped in her tracks.

"Of course! I um...I always like hanging out with you."

'And I now know why.'

And as Amity stared at Luz, her smile grew, and the blush became darker. They stayed like that for a good chunk of time, standing in the hallway, smiling like idiots. And that's when Boscha walked through them.

"Whoops," she said while walking past, kicking Amity's crutch out from under her arm. Amity fell almost immediately, to which Luz dropped the books she was holding so she could catch her friend. Fortunately, Luz caught Amity right before she could hit the ground. Unfortunately, Boscha still hadn't walked away yet.

"Aw, I'm so sorry," she said with a condescending tone, "Did I interrupt the moment?"

"You could have broken my nose!" Amity snapped.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing your  _ girlfriend _ caught you, isn't it?"

Amity's face went completely red, and Luz knew that she must have been even angrier now.

"That's not--We're not...Shut up!" was all Amity could get out, but all it did was make Boscha laugh even more.

"Shut up? That's really the best you got?" Boscha turned to walk away and yelled back: "You really have gone soft, Blight!"

Luz glared at the back of Boscha's head, hoping that someday, somehow, that girl will get what she deserves. When Luz looked back at Amity, her friend looked both angry and a little hurt.

"Hey, don't let her get to you," Luz nurtured, "My mom says that bullies like her want nothing more than to get a rise out of people. The best thing to do in that scenario is just to ignore them until they take the hint and leave."

"And if they won't stop annoying you?"

"Then she would say to make a fist and promptly punch them in the nose. That should be enough to show her."

Amity gave a light chuckle, looking back at Luz with so much appreciation showing through her expression.

"Your mom sounds like a smart lady."

"Yeah. She is."

And that was when Luz realized how close they both were, causing her heart to go rapid again and her face to feel the warmest it has ever been. Amity's face went red too, and her eyes briefly glanced down for some reason. Luz glanced down as well and stared a second too long at Amity's lips.

'I could just lean in and--NOPE!' Luz shook her head to clear that thought, 'Nope! That is weird to think about right now! Abort! Abort!'

"Um, let me just, uh," Luz helped walk Amity over to a wall and let the girl lean against it. Luz then went over to grab Amity's crutch with one hand and held the books against her side with the other.

"Here," Luz held out the crutch, which Amity grabbed with a shaky hand of her own.

"Th-Thank you," she muttered. The two of them then went on to walk in yet another awkward silence, until finally stopping by the door to Amity's class.

"Well," Amity said, "This is my stop. I'll be taking those books now."

"Sure," Luz carefully handed each textbook to Amity. "And when the bell screams, I'll be right here to help carry your books to your next class."

"Where's your next class right now?"

"On the other side of the building."

"Luz, you don't--"

"I want to," Luz interrupted with a smile, "Really."

Amity returned the sentiment with a smile of her own.

"Thank you, Luz."

"You're welcome," Luz began to walk backward in the direction of her class, "And I can't wait for this Saturday at...Hey, what time does the book fair start?"

"Around 10:00 AM."

"Ok. Then I'll be around Blight Manor at 9:45 to walk you there," Luz said with a wink and finger guns.

"It's a date!" Amity said with excitement, only to just as quickly slap a hand, the same hand that was holding her textbooks, over her mouth. All of Amity's face became the shade of a tomato, while Luz literally froze in place with a deep blush of her own.

"I mean--It's not--I--uh--um..." Amity sputtered, only to become silent as she opened and closed her mouth. Words were clearly failing her at the moment. Then, disregarding the books that were still on the floor, Amity turned with a squeak and hobbled into her classroom.

Then there was Luz, who was standing as still as a statue, her mind running with thoughts as she processed what Amity said. And that's when it hit her. The flushed cheeks. The nervous speech and movements. And the fact that Luz couldn't see the missing variable that caused all of it. Because  _ she _ was the missing variable.

'Amity has a crush on me,' the thought alone caused Luz to smile wide, 'Amity might have a crush on me, and I probably have a date with her this Saturday!'

"I really am the luckiest girl in the world," Luz said out loud, walking down the hall with a literal skip in her step.

During all of her classes, Luz couldn't concentrate during a single one of them. Because throughout the whole day, Luz's mind was filled with thoughts of green hair, cute laughter, and an adorable flustered smile. And yet, whenever each period was over, she didn't hesitate to run over to Amity's last class and walk her over to the next one. But she never asked if her assumptions were correct. Because that is for Amity to admit when she's ready. And also because Luz was so out of breath that she was physically incapable of talking. 

But it was always worth it to see that smile.

She can think about crushes and maybe dates later. Amity needs her now.


	7. Camila

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: Mother/Daughter Time
> 
> TW: Google translated Spanish and physical abuse from a parent. But not from Camila...Yup. I went there. And it's the main reason why I made this story rated T for teen, and this is your last warning before getting into it.

The last few days have been kind of up and down for Luz. She spent a whole night doing homework because she talked to Gus too long about the human realm. She failed her abominations presentation because Luz was too busy helping Eda making glyphs to find one for Abominations. She slept for an entire day after staying up all night with King. She felt the full force of Boscha's wrath one day and was forced to talk to Lilith the next. And she was exhausted from having to carry Amity's books all week.

And yet, Luz wouldn't take back anything she did due to all the good it caused. She made her friend's days better when they needed her most. Eda is now a pro at making glyphs, albeit a little slower than Luz. King got to sleep in Luz's lap, which was always a treat. Lilith actually seemed like she was making up for the past rather than wallow in the present. And, Luz still has a maybe date with Amity. So despite the trials and tribulations, Luz didn't regret a single second of helping everyone. Because for her, it never hurt to help.

This is why, at lunch, her attention was caught by a familiar group of delinquents at their own table.

"For the last time: NO!" Jerbo said while pounding his fist onto the table for emphasis.

_ "Woof!" _

"We don't care if you practiced," Viney told Barcus, "We're not doing it. Not now, and not ever!"

Barcus whined, resting his head onto the lunch table.

"Hey, old detention buddies," Luz said as she walked over, "Couldn't help but overhear and wanted to see what's wrong."

"Hey, Luz," Viney waved, "And don't worry about it. It's not your concern."

"You kidding?" Luz set her lunch tray down, "I'm always concerned when it comes to my friends...Wait. We are still friends, right?"

Each of them gave a shrug in response.

"Hm...Well, either way, I'm still happy to help! So what's wrong?"

"Well..." Jerbo gestured to Barcus, "He has an Oracle assignment due today. According to Barcus' teacher, he has to perform a spell that will show an important event in our future. It’s supposed to take a memory you will have, transfer it into your current consciousness, and whatever you’ll see, everyone else will see a projection of that event."

"All week, he's been using us to practice," Viney explained, "But instead of showing an important part of our future, he keeps showing an  _ embarrassing _ moment from our  _ past." _

_ "Woof! Woof!" _

"It doesn't matter that you didn't mean to do it!" Jerbo exclaimed, "You guys saw my seven-year-old birthday party! I'd swore that I would die before anybody knew about that day."

"Yeah, and you guys saw me..having bathroom problems in class," Viney muttered, her cheeks going flush.

"Oh, and here's the worst part," Jerbo added, "You actually get to re-experience what you went through. It's almost as if your brain goes back in time to that exact moment."

"So if you ever had a memory you'd rather forget, guess what!" Viney said, "You get to go through it all over again. And it's even worse the second time around."

Barcus whined again.

"We don't care that you have to present for your Oracle class after lunch," Viney said with indifference, "We're still not letting you practice on us again. Especially since people are watching."

"You really want to practice? Then find somebody else to be your guinea pig, " Jerbo told him.

"I could do it."

All eyes went to Luz, who just had her usual enthusiastic smile on her face.

"You'd really risk that?" Jerbo asked out of disbelief, "Because we're not joking. You'd run the risk of everyone here seeing something embarrassing."

"I don't care," Luz said with a shrug, "I've got nothing that I'm ashamed about. So hit me with that magic, good buddy!"

Barcus' tail began to wag excitedly, panting as he hopped off his seat and stood in front of Luz.

"Woah, Woah, Woah," Viney said, "Before you mess with her brain, maybe you should walk her through the process first."

Barcus nodded an affirmation.

_ "Woof! Woof-woof! Woof! Woof! Woof-woof!" _

"...I'm gonna need a translation."

"Alright," Jerbo spoke up, "Basically, what he said was that he will try to bring forth a vision from seven years from now,  _ exactly.  _ If it goes right, you should be able to see an important moment from your future."

"And if it goes wrong?"

"Then you need to hope that nothing embarrassing happened to you seven years ago," Viney stated, "Also, it's inconsistent with how long the vision will last. It could be about a few seconds or a few minutes. So you should  _ really  _ hope that it isn't a long memory you want to relive."

Luz racked her brain to think if there was anything she was embarrassed about that happened seven years ago. She came up with nothing.

"I think I should be good," she waved off their concern, "But it doesn't matter because my boy Barcus is going show me a bright future. Ain't that right, buddy!"

_ "WOOF!" _

"Alright," Viney shrugged, "Just remember that you literally asked for this."

She nodded at Barcus, who began to draw the spell circle. Luz felt excited for two reasons. Reason number one was the fact that she got to be the test subject of a magic spell. Reason number two is the fact that said spell will show Luz her future. The way she saw it, nothing could go wrong with this plan. Once the spell circle was complete, Luz felt her body slowly absorb the magical energy.

"Hey, wait a minute," Luz said before the magic got to her brain, "You were just joking about it messing with my brain, right--"

_ FLASH! _

_ "¡UN PADRE NO GOLPEA A SU HIJA!" _

_ "¡ELLA NO DEBIÓ HABER ENTRADO EN MI CAMINO!" _

_ "¡ELLA NO QUERÍA QUE TE FUERAS!" _

_ "¡ESA FUE SU ERROR!" _

_ Despite covering her ears and even trapping herself in her bedroom closet, Luz could still hear her parents screaming. Everything stung for Luz.  _

_ Her cheek stung thanks to her father. _

_ Her eyes stung thanks to her tears.  _

_ Her ears stung, thanks to her hands.  _

_ And her heart stung thanks to her parents fighting. _

_ They've fought before. Sometimes more than a couple should. But something about this fight seemed different. It felt different even before Luz felt the slap. All Luz wanted to do was stop him from leaving them. _

_ "¡A dónde crees que vas!" her mother screamed. _

_ "Para conseguir leche. ¡¿A DÓNDE CREES QUE VOY?!" _

_ Luz heard the front door open and slammed just as quickly. Getting curios, Luz got out of her safe space and ran over to her bedroom window that looked over the front yard. Looking out, she saw her father stomping over to the car, Luz's mom not too far behind. _

_ "¡No irás a ningún lado hasta que te disculpes con esa pobre chica de arriba!" _

_ "¡Aléjate de mí o serás el próximo!" _

_ Luz's father then got in the car, clearly having trouble starting it. It never did always work on the first go. _

_ "¿Sabes que? ¡Adelante, vete!" Her mom then took off her wedding ring and threw it at the car. "¡Mira si me importa! ¡Pero debes saber que estás MUERTO si te vuelvo a ver aquí!" _

_ The car finally started and peeled off as Luz's mom started to stomp back into the house. Once Luz heard the front door slam again, she slumped down unto the floor, incapable of understanding what just happened. _

_ 'Papi's gone,' Luz thought, 'He's gone and is never coming back. No more dinner together as a family. But, that also means no more Papi getting angry. But that also means no more movie nights. But there’s also no more him and Mami screaming--Mami!' _

_ Luz was so busy thinking about herself, she didn't even consider how her mother was feeling. So Luz got up and ran out the door and down the stairs. When she got to the living room, that's when she saw her mother, slumped on the couch, her glasses in one hand, and sobbing into the other. She didn't even notice that Luz was there. _

_ Luz wanted to cry. She just wanted to run over to her mother for a hug and just weep. But her mom always said to keep a brave face when people need you the most. _

_ 'You can cry later,' Luz thought, 'Mami needs you now.' _

_ So Luz ran back upstairs and into her bedroom. Looking around, she found her solution lying on her bed. _

_ "C'mon Señor Oso," Luz said as she picked up her teddy bear, "Mami needs us." _

_ With Señor Oso in hand, Luz ran back downstairs and saw her mother exactly how Luz had left her. The sight alone still made Luz want to cry, but she forced herself to be strong for both of them. So, Luz walked over to her mother and stood in front of her. _

_ "Mami?" _

_ Her mom then stopped her sobbing with a gasp as she looked up. Putting her glasses on, Camila looked at Luz with a pained expression. _

_ "Oh, mija," she whimpered, "I'm so sorry that had to happen to you. Trust me, you don't ever have to--" _

_ But before Camila could finish, Luz held up Señor Oso, causing Camilia to look curiously at the bear. _

_ "Don't feel sad that Papi left us!" Luz talked with a deep voice as she moved Señor Oso around, "Everything will be ok. I'll just be the man of the house from now on! And I promise that I'll be nice. Because I wuv you both BEARY much!  _ Bap!"

_ Luz lifted Señor Oso's arm and used it to gently bap her mother on the nose. Luz then forced a bright and happy smile on her face as she lowered Señor Oso and looked at Camila. At first, Camila looked shocked. Then she smiled, then laughed, and then started crying again. Finally, she pulled Luz into a hug and continued to cry as she held her. Although, this time, she didn't seem sad. She almost seemed a little happy. _

_ "That was lovely cariño," Camila sobbed, "Gracias." _

_ 'She needs you now, she needs you now, she needs you now." _

_ "De nada, Mami," Luz hugged her mother back, choking back the tears as she did. _

_ "Hey," Camilia pulled away from the hug to look at Luz. "How about we go and get ourselves a treat, huh?" _

_ "Chimichurri sandwiches!" _

_ Camila furrowed her eyebrows. She gently touched Luz's cheek, to which Luz immediately flinched at the contact. _

_ "...No," Camila said, "No, this doesn't seem like a sandwich situation. How about ice cream instead? Is that ok?" _

_ "Ok," Luz gently rubbed her cheek, "...Hey, Mami?" _

_ "Yes, Luz?" _

_ "...You're not going to leave either, are you?" _

_ The look on Camila's face looked like her heart broke all over again. _

_ "Oh, mi bebe," Camila pulled Luz in for yet another hug, "I swear to you that I will never leave you as that monster did.  _ Never."

_ Luz wanted to cry again. But she didn't. Because her mom needs her now. _

_ "Ok, Mami," Luz mumbled, "I promise that I will never ever ever leave you either. Ever." _

_ FLASH! _

Luz blinked the magic out of her eyes. And...something else. Whipping her eyes with a hand, Luz quickly found out that she had been crying. As she looked around the cafeteria, Luz noticed that all eyes were on her. Each of them was filled with shock and even pity. Especially Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus, who all had their own stunned expressions as they stared at Luz.

_ 'I promise that I will never ever ever leave you either. Ever' _

"I...I need to go," was all Luz could say. "I just...I just need to go."

And so Luz turned on her heel and ran. She ran as fast as she could out the door and into the hallway. Luz knew people were calling her name but didn't hear them. She refused to.

Finally, after finding a bathroom, Luz ran in and locked herself into a stall. She then sat on the toilet and pressed her knees against her chest.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry,  _ don't cry!' _ she thought to herself. Eventually, Luz heard the bathroom door open and hoped against hope that it wasn't who she thought it was.

"Luz?" Viney called, "Are you in there?"

"Just go away," Luz choked out.

"Look, Barcus said he is incredibly sorry," Viney clearly sounded worried, "He swears that he could've gotten it to work this time. In no way did he mean to--"

"I said go away!" Luz cried.

"...Do you...Do you want me to get one of your other friends? Like, Willow? Or maybe that Blight girl--"

"NO!" Luz didn't mean to be as loud as she was, "Just...I just want to be alone right now. Ok?"

Luz sounded broken. 

She  _ felt _ broken. 

But she didn't care.

"...Ok," Viney conceded, "If that's what you really want."

Luz heard the bathroom door open and closed. And Luz was alone again. Alone with nothing but her thoughts to distract her.

It wasn't the memory that made Luz feel the way that she did. It wasn't even the embarrassment of the school seeing something so personal. It was the last words that tore Luz apart.

_ 'I promise that I will never ever ever leave you either. Ever.' _

Those words echoed throughout Luz's head. A promise made that she kept since she was seven, and Luz broke it almost a month ago.

And Luz couldn't help it.

She cried.

She cried as loud as she could, not caring if anybody could hear her.

She shed the tears she held in all those years ago.

Because her mom needed her then. And she probably needs her now.


	8. Luz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luz Appreciation Week may be over, but there's one more chapter left in this story.

Luz was in her room, curtains closed in almost complete darkness. Except for the faint light on Luz's phone as she stared at a picture of her mother, posing with a chimichurri sandwich. Luz wanted nothing more than to be there right now. To have the same fun times they shared since before Luz came to the Boiling Isles.

But she couldn't.

Because she broke her promise.

Ever since Barcus showed that vision from Luz's past, Luz was practically an emotionless zombie for the rest of the school day. Just shuffling along to her next class, not even paying attention to the people around her. And yet, she knew that everyone was staring. She knew that people were whispering about what had happened in the cafeteria. Because another similarity between human school and Hexide is that news travels fast when something embarrassing happens.

But Luz didn't care. She didn't listen to her friends, trying to ask if she was ok. And she definitely didn't listen to Eda and King asking what happened.

For two whole days, Luz stayed in her room, only getting out to eat when she needed to. And even then, when Eda and King tried to pull Luz into a conversation, she was practically silent the whole time. All she would offer was either a shrug or even a "hm."

She missed an entire day of school. She missed her maybe date with Amity. And yet, Luz didn't care. She didn't really feel anything at the moment.

"Hey, Luz!" Eda called from the living room, "Come down here! I need you to do something!"

Luz did nothing.

"And try to look semi-presentable while you're at it!"

She still did nothing.

"Do it, or I'll have Hooty drag you out instead!"

"AND I'D DO IT TOO! HOOT HOOT!" Hooty screeched. That's when Luz let loose a dragged out sigh.

"Alright!" Luz called back, "I'll be down in a minute!"

Putting on her signature hoodie and jean shorts, Luz pocketed her phone and exited her room. Her hair was probably a mess, and her eyes definitely had bags under them, but Eda did say to look  _ semi _ -presentable.

"Whatever you need, can it be quick?" Luz asked as she got down the stairs, "Because I--"

"SURPRISE!"

Luz jumped at the sudden cheer. Taking notice of her surroundings, Luz was even more surprised by what she saw. Eda, King, Willow, Gus, Amity, and even Lilith smiled as they stood in the living room, which was currently filled with balloons, streamers, and most notably, a banner.

"'Luz Appreciation Day?'" Luz read the banner, "What is--"

"Up-up-up!" Eda held a hand up for silence, "Before you say anything else, might I suggest you take a seat on your throne?"

"My...My throne?"

On cue, everyone shuffled out of the way to present Luz's 'throne' behind them. In actuality, it was just an ordinary wooden chair with a red velvet pillow on the seat. However, what caught Luz's attention was what was hung over the back of the chair. Numbly walking over, Luz picked up a sash and read the words 'World's Best Human!' written on it.

"Well, go ahead. Put it on," Willow urged, "There's no one else here that could fit that description."

"And don't worry about the pillow," King said, "I've tested it, and I'm one hundred percent sure that it is comfortable...Alright, ninety-five percent. But that's still pretty good!"

Luz looked at her friends, down at the sash, over to the chair, and back at her friends. Slowly and silently, with her expression blank, Luz put her sash on and sat down on the chair behind her.

"That's the spirit, kiddo!" Eda then looked over at Gus, "Take it away, little man."

"With pleasure," Gus bowed in response. Gus went to stand in the middle of the room, while everyone else went to sit down on the couch.

"Welcome to Luz Appreciation Day!" Gus announced, "Today we celebrate the one, and unfortunately only, Luz the Human! Also known as the best friend we all could have ever asked for!"

Luz felt something small and light tingle inside her as Gus said that.

"We shall start the celebration by sharing what it is about Luz that makes us love her so much," he continued, "I'll start, of course, since I'm up here. You see, every time I talk to Luz, I always learn something new. Whether it would be about her or humans in general, Luz fascinates me with each conversation. All my theories and assumptions can now be answered just by a single visit to the Isles' favorite human. The idea of learning more about humans would be perfect alone, but knowing that I get to have an outstanding and supportive friend like you? That is better than any knowledge you could give me. So thank you, Luz, for being more than just a well of information, but for being my friend. Because I'm not kidding when I say that I appreciate your friendship more."

Everyone gave a round of applause to Gus's speech. As for Luz, she sat still. The briefest of smiles showing on her face before just as quickly disappearing. Gus went to go sit down, to which Willow soon took his place.

"What I appreciate about Luz is how much she's willing to help others," she said, "A few days ago, I pulled a prank on Boscha, and Luz took the blame for it. I didn't ask her to do it or even wanted her to do so. Luz just did it and didn't even regret her choice if it meant that I was safe. And I respect that.

"The fact that you don't even hesitate to stand up to someone if it meant protecting people you care about is just admirable. Not only that, but it is inspiring. So inspiring that it was the main reason why I stood up to Boscha in the first place. Because I knew that if you could fight Emperor Belos himself to save Eda, then I could stand up for myself against Boscha. Because you, Luz, make me want to braver than I could have ever realized."

This time, Luz's smile lingered as everyone gave their applause. When Willow went to sit down, it was Amity's turn to stand and hobble over to the center. Once she got there, she leaned on her crutch and pulled a couple of cards out of her pocket.

"I wrote a couple of things down for my speech," she explained.

"Because of course, you did," Luz quipped, her tone teasing rather than dry. Everyone else beamed at her remark, clearly pleased that the plan was working. Amity then cleared her throat as she began to read off her cards.

"I have always been a little amazed by how kind Luz can be almost every day," she read, "Helping others seems almost like second nature to her, and she'll do what you'll need without you even to ask. It's incredible and..."

Amity then stuffed the cards back in her pocket and stared Luz right in the eyes.

"And I can't help but admire you for your good nature," Amity said with a blush, "You strive to make people have a good day, and in return, they want to do better. To be better. And I just lo--APPRECIATE! I  _ appreciate _ how you do that! Hehe."

Amity cleared her throat again, her blush growing darker.

"Honestly, I always assumed that a person like you had a great life to have a positive attitude," Amity's soft expression then saddened, "So, it came as a shock when I found out how...imperfect things have been for. And I'm sorry for bringing that up--Which is why I should've stuck with the cue cards--but to tell you the truth, knowing how things were for you, makes me admire you even more. Despite how things turned out, you still walk around with a smile on your face and a willingness to help people around you. And that is honestly even more amazing than I could have ever realized.

"Which is why I..." Amity looked like she wanted to say something but just couldn't get it out, "You see, I...I-I..."

Amity took a deep breath and stared directly at Luz.

"I really,  _ really  _ appreciate having you in my life, Luz. More than you know." 

Amity smiled, her blush faint but still present. Luz was practically beaming at this point, her own blush growing on her face.

"C'mon. Scooch!  _ Scooch!"  _ King ordered as he pulled at Amity's leg, "You've been talking enough as it is. It's my turn now!"

"Alright, fine!" Amity growled, walking back to her seat, "You don't have to be so rude about it."

"And you didn't have to squash my cupcake!"

"I apologized several times for that!"

"And it's too little too late, you fiend! Too little too late!"

Luz couldn't help but chuckle at the scenario happening before her. Everyone stared at her, pleasantly surprised that she did so.

"Uh...A-Anyways!" King cleared his throat as he shook off his own shock, "What I appreciate about Luz are her tenacity and strength. She alone conquered challenges that not even I could do myself!"

"You both tried to stay awake during a Friday night!" Eda pointed out, "That's not a challenge. That's a dumb dare."

"I wasn't talking about that!" King whined, "I was talking about other things. Such as defeating opponents who are bigger than you, stronger than you, and even more cunning than you. Believe it or not, I have had my fair share of misgivings when it comes to certain foes in the past."

"Like the vacuum cleaner?"

"That was a secret I told you in confidence!" King shouted, only to just as quickly calm himself, "But-er-yes. Like the vacuum cleaner. Your skills are incredible, and you have earned my undying respect because of it. To which when I burn this land to the ground AND RULE IT AS THE FEARSOME AND RUTHLESS MONARCH THAT I AM...I will be more than happy to have a throne next to mine for you to take a seat in. Less opposing, though. Of course."

"Aw, thanks, King," Luz cooed, "That's very sweet of you."

"Is it?"

"Silence, cupcake squasher!" King exclaimed as he retook his seat.

"Ok, seriously, do I have to make you a new cupcake?" Amity asked, clearly annoyed, "Is that really what it will take to make you feel better?"

"...Perhaps."

_ "A-hem." _

All eyes went to Lilith, who nervously fiddled with the skirt of her dress.

"May  _ I  _ go next?" she then frantically turned to Eda, "Unless, of course, you wish to go before me!"

"... _ Nah.  _ You go ahead," Eda waved off Lilith's concern, "Besides, it's for the better to save the best for last, right?"

Lilith gave an appreciative smile as she stood up and took her spot in the center of the room.

"Like Miss Blight, I too am amazed at how kind you are, Luz," she said, "I even got a chance to witness your kindness firsthand as a person who, quite frankly, doesn't deserve it. You saw me at my lowest, and despite what I have done to you and most of the people in this room, you still tried to make me feel better. Never in my life have I seen someone with such a gentle spirit, and I am honored to experience your generosity. And such generosity deserves rewards rather than punishment.

"Which is why I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to get you back home and to your mother _.  _ And I may not know how or when something like this will be possible, but I swear that I will not rest until it is done."

Luz fought back her tears as she smiled warmly at Lilith. In fact, thanks to her vow, Luz's smile might just be the first sincere one she offered for the witch. Lilith gave a polite bow and took her seat as Eda walked up to the center.

"And now for the moment, you've all been waiting for: My speech!" Eda announced to the room, "Now, what can I say about Luz? Well...Actually, to be honest, a better question would be 'What  _ can't _ I say about her?' You see, when I first met you, kid, my first thought was to use you for personal gain. Because when you live by yourself for a few years, with only a screeching door-knocker and an annoying little fuzzball for company, you tend to mostly look out for yourself. But then something interesting happened. Even after King and I scammed you and even put you through a dangerous situation, you had the crazy conviction of wanting to stay.

"At first, I thought 'Ooh, free labor.' But then you just kept throwing yourself into danger, and for the most part, it always struck something deep inside my core. I had this...this weird urge to keep you safe. To keep you happy. I don't understand why, and I'm far from understanding how, but one thing's for sure: I can't imagine my life getting better without you in it.

"I'm well aware that sounds cheesy and extra aware that King is going to make fun of me for it later, but it's the truth. The day you showed up and made each day a little harder also happens to be the best days of my life. That dopey grin of yours, your corny jokes, and overall positive attitude are just...just euphoric in a way."

Eda's jovial expression then turned disheartened.

"Which is why it...It breaks my heart to see you so...so heartbroken," she confessed, "It just feels unnatural, you know? And Lily's right. As much as I hate to admit it, she is. No kid, especially you, deserves to be in the situation you're in. Which is why Lily ain't the only one who promises to work hard to get you back to your mom. Because, not only do I want to see that happy face when you see her, but I also personally plan to shake the hand of the woman clearly responsible for making you,  _ you. _

"Because I appreciate you, Luz. Every last bit--"

But Eda didn't get to finish her sentiment. Because Luz got up from her chair and dashed over to her mentor, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you," she whimpered, fresh tears leaking out, "Thank you so much."

Eda smiled motherly as she gently patted Luz on the back.

"You're welcome, kiddo," she said.

"I wanna hug too!" King demanded, leaping onto Luz's legs and giving her a squeeze. Eda just rolled her eyes in response.

"Anybody else wanna get in on this?" she asked in a deadpan manner, "Might as well do it now before I change my-- _ OK!" _

Amity ran up as fast as possible to hug Luz, with Gus and Willow following shortly after. Even Lilith gently walked up to put a tentative hand on Luz's shoulder.

"Alright, that's enough," Eda ordered after a minute or two of hugging, "Give her some air. Seriously, this her day, and we don't want to suffocate her before it's over."

Everyone separated, allowing Luz to wipe away her happy tears, her signature smile finally plastered back onto her face.

"Thank you all so much for doing this," she told her friends, "But, really, you didn't have to--"

"Yes, we did," Willow interrupted.

"Besides, it doesn't matter if we didn't have to," Amity added with a grin, "Because we wanted to."

"You've done so much for everyone here that it's about time someone did something for you," Eda told Luz, to which Luz's smile grew even wider at the notion.

"Well, I definitely appreciate it."

"And we appreciate you," Gus said, "Now, there's one last surprise we have in store for you, and we're going to have to ask you to sit back down as we get it ready."

"Which means sitting here by yourself. You think you can handle that?"

Eda looked genuinely concerned when she asked, which just made Luz feel all the happier.

"Yeah, I can handle it," she said while walking to her 'throne,' "Thank you. Again."

"No problem," Eda then waved for everyone to follow her, and the whole group walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. But before leaving, King turned around and pointed a warning claw at Luz.

"And keep those peepers shut!" he ordered, "We don't want to spoil the surprise."

Luz chuckled, covering her eyes with both of her hands. And there she sat in the living room, swinging her legs back and forth, with a dopey grin on her face. It's almost as if nothing bad had ever happened.

_ Ping! _

Hearing the sound, Luz kept her eyes closed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Peeking one eye open, what Luz saw made her stomach drop.

_ New text message: Mom _

Briefly weighing her options, Luz took a deep breath, remembered the words everyone had just said to her and unlocked her phone. She already knew what to text back by the next  _ Ping! _

_ (MOM 12:05 PM) Hola, mija. _

_ (MOM 12:05 PM) Just checking in to see how you are doing. _

_ (12:05 PM) I'm doing fine _

_ (12:06 PM) In fact, I'm doing more than fine. I'm doing great! _

_ (MOM 12:06 PM) How so? _

_ (12:06 PM) You see, Eda, Lilith, and all of my friends put together an amazing party _

_ (12:07 PM) They call it "Luz Appreciation Day!" _

_ (MOM 12:07 PM) A Luz Appreciation Day? _

_ (MOM 12:07 PM) Well, I wish I got the memo. _

_ (MOM 12:07 PM) I would be more than happy to drive over there myself to celebrate ^-^. _

Luz briefly felt her stomach squirm before responding.

_ (12:08 PM) They probably didn't want you to take time out of your busy schedule _

_ (MOM 12:08 PM) Yeah, I guess that's fair. _

_ (MOM 12:09 PM) So what did they do? _

_ (12:09 PM) Well, so far all they did was give speeches about how much they love me _

_ (12:09 PM) Right now, I'm supposed to be keeping my eyes shut so I won't spoil the surprise _

_ (12:10 PM) But I'm being a bad girl by talking to my mom _

_ (MOM 12:10 PM) Ooh. So bad. _

_ (12:10 PM) Lol _

_ (MOM 12:10 PM) Well, since I can't be there, would it be ok for me to share what I appreciate about you? _

_ (12:11 PM) Um, sure. If you want _

_ (MOM 12:11 PM) What I appreciate is your willingness to roll with what life throws at you. _

_ (MOM 12:12 PM) No matter what environment you're thrown into, you always try to make the best of things. _

_ (MOM 12:12 PM) And you try to make sure everyone else is having a good time as well. _

_ (MOM 12:13 PM) You have the biggest heart out of everyone I have ever met, cariño.  _

_ (MOM 12:13 PM) Saying that you're my daughter is more of a privilege than a statement. And I could not be prouder of you each day. _

Fresh tears hit the phone screen, and Luz quickly whipped her eyes in response.

_ (12:14 PM) Hey mom? _

_ (MOM 12:14 PM) Yes, Luz? _

'I'm stuck in another dimension, and I might not come back home,' was what Luz wanted to type. In fact, she did type it and held her thumb over the send button to send it. It would have been so easy. She could just send the message now and finally get the truth out there. 

But she didn't do it. 

She couldn't do it.

Not now.

Instead, she deleted what she wrote and typed out a different truth.

_ (12:15 PM) I miss you, Mami _

_ (12:16 PM) I miss you every day that I'm here _

_ (12:16 PM) And when I come home, I am going to give you the biggest, tightest bear hug you've ever had that your eyes will just pop. _

_ (MOM 12:16 PM) Oh, bebe... _

_ (MOM 12:17 PM) You're going to make me cry :'). _

_ (12:17 PM) Well, it's the truth _

_ (MOM 12:17 PM) And I appreciate it. _

_ (MOM 12:18 PM) Anyway, I got to go now. _

_ (MOM 12:18 PM) I'll talk to you later, ok? _

_ (12:18 PM) Ok _

_ (MOM 12:19 PM) Te quero. _

_ (12:19 PM) Yo también te quiero, Mamá _

_ (12:19 PM) Siempre _

Luz locked her phone again and slid it back into her pocket. She felt guilty for having to lie to her mom again. But she will tell her the truth one day. Just not that day.

"Alright, Kid!" Eda called, "You ready for that surprise?"

"Those peepers better be shut!"

Luz covered her eyes again. She waited patiently, hearing the sound of footsteps coming into the living room and something big being set down on the floor.

"Ok. You can open your eyes now," Willow stated. Doing what she was told, Luz uncovered her eyes and saw that everyone was presenting a giant, three layered cake that was almost as big as Luz.

“Are those...are those  _ Good Witch Azura  _ scenes drawn on with frosting?” Luz asked, eyes glimmering as she pointed at the insanely accurate portrayals.

“Yes, and I had a hand in that,” Lilith said, “It was nothing but a simple spell, after all. Although, you can thank Miss Blight for making sure these scenes were accurate.”

“Plus, the cake itself is chocolate with cream between each layer,” Gus told her, “Sounds pretty good, right?”

"...If I haven't said 'I love you' to you all enough...I mean it even more now," she said, her eyes sparkling and her mouth drooling.

"We know, Luz," Eda then pulled out a knife and fork, "Now, how about you dig in?"

And Luz was more than happy to get up and walk over to her cake. She knew there were a lot of things she needed to do.

She needed to tell her mom the truth.

She needed to find a way back home.

She needed to make up for the days she missed while feeling sorry for herself. Especially that maybe date with Amity.

But at the moment?

Surrounded by people she loves?

Luz didn't care what she needed to do.

She can worry about that stuff later. Luz needs her family right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider that scene with Camila as an apology for having to shelve my other story Texts to Home...which is going to be shelved for even longer because inspiration hit me like a truck for another story to write.
> 
> Anyways, thank you all so much for reading this story, and extra thanks if you participated in Luz Appreciation Week. Luz might just be my favorite character in the show and possibly throughout all of Disney. I see a lot of myself in her, which is why it pains me to know how Luz is overlooked by her own love interest. So I hope by reading this story, some of you might be encouraged to shine a light on the best Disney protagonist that we've had in years.
> 
> Also, if you're interested in other crap that I make/am currently making, you can click right here: https://ordinaryschmuck.tumblr.com/


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